Mughalsarai junction’s now Deen Dayal Upadhyaya stn
MUGHALSARAI (DDUNAGAR): The over a century old Mughalsarai Junction got its new identity — Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction — on Sunday as BJP president Amit Shah, railway minister Piyush Goyal and UP CM Yogi Adityanath formally unveiled the station’s board here.
Goyal also flagged off Ekatmata Express between DDU Junction and Lucknow via Sultanpur twice every week.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah termed the moment as “historic”, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said the station had found a new identity.
“This name will be a source of inspiration for all,” Yogi said.
Addressing the gathering, Piyush Goyal said: “Renaming of the junction is a matter of pride. Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya is a ‘sapoot’ (son) of railways as his father and maternal uncle worked for the railways.”
Union minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha also said the new identity of the station would inspire people. The state government had issued a notification for renaming of Mughalsarai Junction as Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction on June 4 this year and sent a copy to the Railway Board and other departments concerned.All the boards and signages of the station, one of the busiest railway junctions of the country which comes under the East Central Railway (ECR), now bear the new name. Several Rajdhani Express trains and others pass through the station.
Trains to Delhi and Mumbai from Kolkata and other destinations also pass through it.
The junction’s yard will be upgraded as a smart yard and the work was inaugurated by Amit Shah. Upadhyaya, who was the founder member of the Bharatiya Jansangh, was found dead near the station under mysterious circumstances in February 1968.
Not many know that the town has never witnessed a communal riot and remained peaceful even after December 6, 1992, when the disputed structure in Ayodhya was demolished.
Mukesh Pratap Singh, who teaches history at Lal Bahadur Shastri Post Graduate College, Mughalsarai, said: “The foundation of the town was laid during the rule of Sher Shah Suri in 15421543.” “A combination of the words ‘Mughal’ and ‘Sarai’, the town derived its name from the inns set up here during Suri’s time and later,” Singh said.
DDU MEMORIAL AND RESEARCH CENTRE
BJP president Amit Shah and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath also laid the foundation of Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Memorial Research Centre here on Sunday. The centre will be constructed by the Varanasi Development Authority on 10 acre land. It will have a big auditorium and a museum depicting the life and philosophy of Upadhyaya. A 63-feet high statue of Upadhyaya will be installed on the premises and books written by him will also be on display.